The sound of metal boots landing on metal flooring echoes throughout the empty halls of the Shutdown Levels. A figure crouched in the darkness sits for a moment in silence, then slowly rises to a standing position. A heavy set of tools shift, and a monitor is brought up to the figure’s eye level. After a few moments, the dial emits a single high-pitched beep.
With a soft click and a twisting upwards, Bae Sang lifted her gas mask. Her face contorted into a confused expression. Aren’t the shutdown levels supposed to be radioactive? Stowing her Geiger counter back into her equipment pack, and giving a light tug on the rope back up to the higher levels, Sang began to explore her surroundings.
She had heard stories of the lower levels of Jisang Tower. Legends of the vast empty halls, and how sometimes they aren’t so empty. Old storerooms with non-perishables, wines from ages past, and even vaults left with money in them from families that have died off. The Lower levels of Jisang tower were known for their valuables hidden in the corners of empty rooms and hallways.
Sang didn’t fancy herself an adventurer, and certainly wasn’t here for any old junk lying around in abandoned houses. She had a particular treasure of her own to search for, and so once she got her bearings, she didn’t hesitate to look through every nook and cranny. Sang knew where she had to go because years ago she had lived on this floor.
Suddenly, a harsh snapping noise. The rhythmic clanging of metal on metal, as if a freight train had landed on its side. This terrible grinding sound came from above Sang, and at first, she wasn’t sure what to do be stand still and look upwards. Stressful seconds passed where this terrible noise simply got louder and closer, and Sang couldn’t believe her ears.
A monster was descending upon her and would soon devour her.
Then she picked up the echoes of this metal giant somewhere to her right, and without thinking shot her gaze to the side. The adrenaline was coursing through her veins at this point, and her eyes quickly discovered the bottom of an elevator shaft. The doors for the elevator were jarred open, and the sound of scraping metal was echoing through.
Sang’s eyes widened in fear, and she sprinted down the hall. She only made it a few feet before one of Jisang’s great elevators collapsed on the building’s floor beside her. Metal splintered out of the open elevator doors, and the whole infrastructure sagged under its new weight. Sang felt the floor wobble beneath her and soon found it coming towards her at alarming speeds. She fell to her knees and was lucky enough to get her arms up above her face. Rolling to a stop, Sang saw a scrap of metal fly twirling past her. Then, shifting chunks of elevator came to rest, and the floor returned to silence.
With a smell of copper, a ringing in her ears, and a dizzying twist to the world Sang tried to rise to her feet. It was more difficult than she had bargained it would be, and took a few more seconds to steady herself. She was struggling to balance herself on two legs when she heard the buzzing.
This was no elevator piece anymore, something else was coming down the shaft after her, and it sounded like motors spinning. Sang knew what that meant, police drones patrolling the restricted floors of the tower. Probably attracted to the sounds of a crashing elevator. If they caught her here…
She stumbled over herself, frantically trying to get moving again before the drones could find her. An irregular step pattern as she clambered up off the ground and tripped over her tingling legs. The sound of a drone buzzing approached closer and closer, descending down the elevator shaft. This was another monster to soon fall upon Sang, but it took the shape of something smaller. Perhaps it was just as deadly.
Regaining her balance, Sang darted around the corner into an abandoned alleyway. Quickly she found a wall to hide behind and tried to calm her breathing. She was still recovering from the explosion of excitement just seconds before and needed to quiet herself down. Her breathing echoed against the tight corridors of the alley she was in, and she wasn’t able to hear the drone for a few seconds.
When her hearing centered in on the drone's location, she froze. The drone was coming this way; it had heard her.
Seconds ticked by as the drone methodically investigated where it had heard a scrambling person. Buzzing back and forth across the entrance to the alley, as if gambling with itself whether or not there was a person inside at all. Sang held her hands up to her mouth, hoping she wouldn’t make any sound at all.
The drone floated outside the alley’s entrance. A flashlight on its front shone into the dark corridor. It lingered there, watching the hallways with a mechanical gaze. Then, the beast slowly began to return to the elevator crash. Sang let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was safe for now.
Minutes later Sang was following down the streets of her home as a child. It had been years and years since she lived in this maze of cramped housing, but she had the basic shape of the city in her mind. It wouldn’t be hard to find what she was looking for anyhow.
A light reflected just barely off the walls in front of her. A shine in Sang’s eyes. She rounded a corner and found herself facing a door slightly ajar, with a crack of light shining from within. The stillness of the moment seemed unreal. The air had a particular cleanliness to it, that didn’t fit the norm for the shutdown level’s taste. As quietly as possible, Sang inched forward and peered through the opening of the door.
She gasped.
Before her were rows upon rows of dead bodies, each in their own Matrix-like casket, with an open top, and wires connecting them to some grand machine. Sang couldn’t believe her eyes. The floor disappeared beneath her, and she soon realized that this monstrous collection of human bodies went on many floors downwards. Something terrible was happening here, and she had stumbled onto the discovery of her life.
Twin fangs of sharp metal stabbed into Sang’s back. She flinched and could barely ask herself ‘what’ before she heard a familiar buzzing. Electricity coursed suddenly through Sang’s body, and the world went black.
With a soft click and a twisting upwards, Bae Sang lifted her gas mask. Her face contorted into a confused expression. Aren’t the shutdown levels supposed to be radioactive? Stowing her Geiger counter back into her equipment pack, and giving a light tug on the rope back up to the higher levels, Sang began to explore her surroundings.
She had heard stories of the lower levels of Jisang Tower. Legends of the vast empty halls, and how sometimes they aren’t so empty. Old storerooms with non-perishables, wines from ages past, and even vaults left with money in them from families that have died off. The Lower levels of Jisang tower were known for their valuables hidden in the corners of empty rooms and hallways.
Sang didn’t fancy herself an adventurer, and certainly wasn’t here for any old junk lying around in abandoned houses. She had a particular treasure of her own to search for, and so once she got her bearings, she didn’t hesitate to look through every nook and cranny. Sang knew where she had to go because years ago she had lived on this floor.
Suddenly, a harsh snapping noise. The rhythmic clanging of metal on metal, as if a freight train had landed on its side. This terrible grinding sound came from above Sang, and at first, she wasn’t sure what to do be stand still and look upwards. Stressful seconds passed where this terrible noise simply got louder and closer, and Sang couldn’t believe her ears.
A monster was descending upon her and would soon devour her.
Then she picked up the echoes of this metal giant somewhere to her right, and without thinking shot her gaze to the side. The adrenaline was coursing through her veins at this point, and her eyes quickly discovered the bottom of an elevator shaft. The doors for the elevator were jarred open, and the sound of scraping metal was echoing through.
Sang’s eyes widened in fear, and she sprinted down the hall. She only made it a few feet before one of Jisang’s great elevators collapsed on the building’s floor beside her. Metal splintered out of the open elevator doors, and the whole infrastructure sagged under its new weight. Sang felt the floor wobble beneath her and soon found it coming towards her at alarming speeds. She fell to her knees and was lucky enough to get her arms up above her face. Rolling to a stop, Sang saw a scrap of metal fly twirling past her. Then, shifting chunks of elevator came to rest, and the floor returned to silence.
With a smell of copper, a ringing in her ears, and a dizzying twist to the world Sang tried to rise to her feet. It was more difficult than she had bargained it would be, and took a few more seconds to steady herself. She was struggling to balance herself on two legs when she heard the buzzing.
This was no elevator piece anymore, something else was coming down the shaft after her, and it sounded like motors spinning. Sang knew what that meant, police drones patrolling the restricted floors of the tower. Probably attracted to the sounds of a crashing elevator. If they caught her here…
She stumbled over herself, frantically trying to get moving again before the drones could find her. An irregular step pattern as she clambered up off the ground and tripped over her tingling legs. The sound of a drone buzzing approached closer and closer, descending down the elevator shaft. This was another monster to soon fall upon Sang, but it took the shape of something smaller. Perhaps it was just as deadly.
Regaining her balance, Sang darted around the corner into an abandoned alleyway. Quickly she found a wall to hide behind and tried to calm her breathing. She was still recovering from the explosion of excitement just seconds before and needed to quiet herself down. Her breathing echoed against the tight corridors of the alley she was in, and she wasn’t able to hear the drone for a few seconds.
When her hearing centered in on the drone's location, she froze. The drone was coming this way; it had heard her.
Seconds ticked by as the drone methodically investigated where it had heard a scrambling person. Buzzing back and forth across the entrance to the alley, as if gambling with itself whether or not there was a person inside at all. Sang held her hands up to her mouth, hoping she wouldn’t make any sound at all.
The drone floated outside the alley’s entrance. A flashlight on its front shone into the dark corridor. It lingered there, watching the hallways with a mechanical gaze. Then, the beast slowly began to return to the elevator crash. Sang let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was safe for now.
Minutes later Sang was following down the streets of her home as a child. It had been years and years since she lived in this maze of cramped housing, but she had the basic shape of the city in her mind. It wouldn’t be hard to find what she was looking for anyhow.
A light reflected just barely off the walls in front of her. A shine in Sang’s eyes. She rounded a corner and found herself facing a door slightly ajar, with a crack of light shining from within. The stillness of the moment seemed unreal. The air had a particular cleanliness to it, that didn’t fit the norm for the shutdown level’s taste. As quietly as possible, Sang inched forward and peered through the opening of the door.
She gasped.
Before her were rows upon rows of dead bodies, each in their own Matrix-like casket, with an open top, and wires connecting them to some grand machine. Sang couldn’t believe her eyes. The floor disappeared beneath her, and she soon realized that this monstrous collection of human bodies went on many floors downwards. Something terrible was happening here, and she had stumbled onto the discovery of her life.
Twin fangs of sharp metal stabbed into Sang’s back. She flinched and could barely ask herself ‘what’ before she heard a familiar buzzing. Electricity coursed suddenly through Sang’s body, and the world went black.